Business

Co Down firm to supply extraction system to Nigeria

A CO DOWN engineering designer Northern Innovation has secured a £200,000 contract to supply its unique water extraction system to a soft drinks maker in Nigeria.

The export deal with Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) in Ikeja, near Lagos, is the Moneyreagh firm's first major export order since it was founded in 2006 by Norman Ferguson, its current managing director.

NBC is undergoing a significant expansion, and demand for water used in the soft drinks manufacturing process has increased. "Through our long standing relationship with the Coca Cola plant in Lisburn, we secured the contract to design and supply two borewell kits for the NBC factory. We also designed, supplied and installed an automated tank level control system to the water storage tanks to optimise water storage on the site," Mr Ferguson said. "An R&D grant of £43,980 from Invest NI enabled us to develop the technology for our unique borewell control system, which allows for sustainable abstraction of ground water. "The system maximises the volume of water which can be extracted from a borewell but also protects the borewell pump from which water is drawn. It also has a remote support facility which allows our engineers to monitor and control borewell installations without having to be on site or even in the country."

Carol Keery, Invest NI's director of research and development, said: "Northern Innovation identified that product innovation and the supply of packaged solutions for extraction of ground water was a key driver for future growth of the business. "This investment has enabled it to develop a successful and innovative product offering which will give Northern Innovations a competitive edge within the specialised engineering sector. I would encourage more business like this to explore how research and development could boost their businesses performance." Northern Innovation has previously installed borewell systems for the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust, the Hastings Hotel Group, Moy Park, Queen's University and other large water users in Northern Ireland.